Loaded Bruschetta Bagels

Friends, I’ve fallen off the wagon.

A once staunch anti-carb activist, I banned scrumptious foods like bagels, breadsticks, potatoes and pastries from my diet. For the most part, I survived… but I was just a shell of my former self. Barely recognizable; I was moody, depressed, and flat out craving the sweet comfort of delicious, soft, chewy bread.

And with just one bite of a Dempster’s Everything Bagel, lightly buttered and oh-so satisfying… I was off the wagon for good. I shall no longer deny myself the luxury of a dense, flavourful bagel! (I’m much happier now. Truly, I’m eating a toasted bagel as I type this. Sooo good.)

Hence, when the husband and I were craving an impromptu late afternoon snack yesterday, I decided to improvise with a few simple ingredients I had on hand – and created my soon-to-be-famous Loaded Bruschetta Bagels.

Honestly, this tasty appetizer doesn’t even require a recipe. Just grab a few staples –

Dempster’s Original Bagels, a clove of garlic, two Roma tomatoes (seeded and diced), 1 teaspoon fresh basil (finely chopped), a tablespoon of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Oh, and I finish with a fine grating of Parmesan cheese.

Mix the diced tomato with the basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Set aside. Lightly toast one bagel – if you’ve got a super fancy KitchenAid toaster like I do, even better (thanks Dempster’s!).

When the bagel is toasted to light brown perfection, rub the top with a piece of raw garlic. This will help impart a pungent garlic flavour without taking over the dish entirely. Next, pile on the tomato mixture – the recipe is called “loaded” bruschetta bagels, so be generous. Finally, finish by grating Parmesan over the top. Et voila! A wonderful way to knock out late afternoon hunger – with fresh and healthy ingredients. YUM!

My husband and I grabbed one half each and it kept us going until dinner time. The combination of the tangy tomato mixture over the toasted but chewy bagel is just too wonderful to describe. It almost brings a tear to my eye.

Love bagels as much as I do? Tweet @Dempsters with your favourite flavour of bagel, and you could win 1 of 5 Prize Packs valued at $200 each!

They’ll pick 5 lucky winners at random on August 29th, 2012.

1. Follow @Dempsters on Twitter

2. Next, tweet @Dempsters and tell them which flavour of #DempstersBagels is your fave! Your tweet must include the hashtag #DempstersBagels.

Multiple entries are OK! Each eligible tweet you make will count as an entry (maximum of 1 tweet per promotion day). Click here for full details and official rules.

This one is easy for me: I’ll just have to tweet them each day with a different bagel – I love them all! Also, be sure to pop by the Demspter’s Facebook Fan Page (that’s where you’ll find the awesome coupons and recipes that everyone is talking about).

Click here to visit Dempster’s.